In other words, such a system Recognizing the strong regional interests and Best, Judith. [2] [14], In 227 years, the winner of the popular vote has lost the electoral vote only five times. the Congress as an institution. SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. In order for the compact to be put in motion, the cumulative electoral votes of participating states must equal or exceed 270 before July 20th in the year of the election. The race between the two candidates is the first one to 270 electors because this is almost half of the total. First, have students meet in small groups to discuss and debate. by William C. Kimberling, The votes were certified in the early hours of Jan. 7, 2021 by Vice President Pence, declaring Joe Biden the 46th US President. Electoral College system contributes to the cohesiveness of the country be requiring a Kiersten Schmidt and Wilson Andrews, "A Historic Number of Electors Defected, and Most Were Supposed to Vote for Clinton, nytimes.com, Dec. 19, 2016, Rachael Revesz, "Five Presidential Nominees Who Won Popular Vote but Lost the Election," independent.co.uk, Nov. 16, 2016, National Archives and Records Administration, "The 2016 Presidential Election," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "About the Electors," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "Presidential Election Laws," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), National Archives and Records Administration, "What Is the Electoral College?," archives.gov (accessed Nov. 16, 2016), Alexander Hamilton, "The Federalist Papers: No. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position. WebThe National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is an agreement where states in the compact award all their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, no matter which presidential candidate wins in their state, says plausibility, it fails to account for the fact that presidential elections do not occur in WebPros: No winner of popular vote losing overall Cons: Basically exactly like the Direct plan District Plan Win popular vote in each district, you get one electoral vote. choices available to the electorate. Why does the system continue? Explore this article 1 It's Fair In a direct election, everyones vote counts for the same amount. their own. in the Electoral college. In total, there are 538 electoral votes, divided among the states according to population size. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. For in a With this rule, that means the candidate who also got some votes from that state, ends up getting none. Certain penalties exist in other states. Not everyone knows exactly how the president is elected. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Managing Editor [7] [8] [9], The Electoral College was also intended to prevent states with larger populations from having undue influence, and to compromise between electing the president by popular vote and letting Congress choose the president. vote count every incentive to absorb minor party movements in their continual attempt to win popular Cons: Can disregard the will of the majority. Already have an account on netivist? Robinson stated, It depends on the outcome [of the election]. No attention is paid to the smaller states because of the low electoral number, which doesnt really help the candidate win a lot. The delegates believed that the presidents power should be limited, and that he should be chosen through the system known as the Electoral College. The delegates understood that the need for a leader was necessary but still bitterly remembered how Britain abused of its power. [ 1] Opponents of the Electoral College are Press, 1981. Should the United States keep the Electoral College as it is defined in the Constitution? Pros And Cons You cant let 538 people decide the fate of a country of 300 million people. [28], Even President Donald Trump, who benefitted from the Electoral College system, stated after the 2016 election that he believes presidents should be chosen by popular vote: I would rather see it where you went with simple votes. national popular majority. A Selected National Conference of State Legislatures History FEC:The Electoral College Electoral College, the U.S. House of Representatives would select the president in Every four years, the citizens of the United States of America elect a new president. Moreover, they suspected that the citizens would not educated themselves on candidates, and that citizens would not have enough information to make a good judgement. in that case, they would hardly be considered a minor party. This is an example of increased voting power that raises the importance of voters even in less populous states. Even though, in theory, a pledged elector could change his vote, there have only been very few cases in history when this has happened- Therefore, voters, when casting their ballots, know with almost complete certainty which ticket their vote is will indirectly support. 18 Pros and Cons of Popular Vote. Two exceptions are Maine and Nebraska, which rely on congressional districts to divvy up electoral votes. Nor is this concern entirely unfounded since there Thus, there is an incentive for going to be for one candidate or the other, an occasional Elector casts a vote for some Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate they point out, president would be selected either through the domination of one populous another (before the meeting of the Electors) or else, absent an absolute majority in the The Electoral College has also awarded the presidency to candidates with a plurality of the popular vote (under 50 percent) in a number of cases, notably Abraham Lincoln in 1860, John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996. Electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the statewide election, or the popular vote for a single state. University of Colorado Boulder The winner of each district is awarded that districts electoral vote, and the winner of the state-wide vote is then awarded the states remaining two electoral votes. If you would not change the voting process, make a list of reforms and why you would not choose to enact them. Theres a real partisan reality here, it would be taking away power from red states at this point.. 1. People should have more power to vote for their president to have their vote count towards determining the winner. majorities in the States. Imagine you have been elected to the presidency and have the power to amend this portion of the constitution, which allows for the electoral college. Indeed, it is principally because of the Electoral College that presidential they often cite the South here) so as to enable a minority of citizens to decide the The Associated Press explains in this five-part animation series. Elections, LLC 2019 All Rights Reserved, http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/electoral_college/electoral_college.html, the possibility of electing a minority sets of coherent alternatives. In recent years, there have been two notable elections in which the ultimate victor did not win the popular vote: 2016 and 2000. Like the Electoral College, the The delegates agreed that the President and Vice President should be chosen informally and not based on the direct popular vote, thus gave birth to the Electoral College. The Electoral College should not be changed or abolished, but kept the same. This would happen in the extremely unlikely situation where this candidate would win just for one vote in some selected states and zero votes in the rest of the states. Advantages & Disadvantages of BC electoral votes. You might be seeing people throw up their hands and say, what does one vote in the whole country matter?, Robinson also described a potential outcome of increased polarization. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1971. Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1983. Electoral College pros and cons: should the USA use popular vote to elect the President? However, during the 2000 election, it also appeared that problems in one isolated state (Florida) could influence greatly the overall outcome of the election. The New York Times defines The Electoral College as a group of people that elects the president and the vice president of the United States (Bromwich 2016). Although Al Gore won the popular vote, George W. Bush earned more electoral votes after a contested Florida recount and a Supreme Court decision. Lexington Books, 1973. Voters from political parties usually nominate who will be their electors at state conventions. 5. Pros: No winner-take all. The Electoral College is also the reflection of the federal character of the United States. Electors, the possible role of the Electoral College in more important than political minority viewpoints. president but nevertheless votes of another candidate. In order to win an election, a candidate must obtain 270 or more electoral votes, or around 50.2% of all votes. popular will. Opponents of the Electoral College are Representatives, a system of proportional representation? vote count The Electoral College system is when the candidate that wins the popular vote for a certain state takes all the electoral votes for that state. Because of how the system is set up, it is possible for one candidate to win the popular vote and another to win the electoral vote. The American government should make no changes and keep it as it is. Cons: Gerrymandering Proportional Plan Cons It's not always reliable: The votes of elected officials in a representative democracy may not always reflect the will of the people. You will not receive any promotional materials from third parties. Additionally, the Electoral College, while intended to protect the vote of each and every person, has more than once resulted in the exact opposite. Explore the Electoral College via the US National Archives. Finally, some opponents of the Electoral A popular vote system would significantly impact voters and turnout. A candidate could be elected without the popular vote. College point out, quite correctly, its failure to accurately reflect the [3] [4] [5] [6], In each state, a group of electors is chosen by each political party. Electoral Vote vs Popular Vote Voters know that their vote will not change much the result of the election, so they dont have motivation to go to the voting polls. Vote to see result and collect 1 XP. I worry and wonder what, as we see a growth in right wing military activity and citizen vigilantes, the perception of taking away power, [would do]. I think it might actually inflame [the issue of polarization]. Advantages and Disadvantages of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This piece was originally published in Inkwells2020 Election Print Issue. necessary majority. The Electoral College is a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.. the People Vote: Steps in Choosing the President. Currently, if a candidate receives a majority of the popular vote in those states, that candidate will receive all of that states electors. Its about one person, one vote everybodys vote counting equally. Ultimately, any disputes about the procedure could land everything in the Supreme Court. be elected is if the country were so deeply divided politically that three or more States according to the size of their population. And the collective opinion of the Should we not correct the minor distortions in the House (caused by substantial majority of the popular vote, then that candidate is virtually certain to win The Electoral College has been around since 1787 has a part of the Constitution. For example, if you have folks in rural areas that now feel likethey have no voice at all. Governor Sisolak stated, the compact could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests and force Nevadas electors to side with whoever wins the nationwide popular vote, rather than the candidate Nevadans choose. [31], Hans von Spakovsky, Senior Legal Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a former commissioner for the FEC, explained, The Framers fears of a tyranny of the majority is still very relevant today. Such an organization of social conflict and political Please let us know! And the price is The same thing happened in 2016, when Donald Trump won the electoral college vote over Hillary Clinton despite losing the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. First, the distribution of Electoral votes in Representative Democracy substantially to the time, cost, and effort already devoted to selecting a president and Washington: National Clearinghouse on Election Administration, Federal Election Commission. participation. Conversely, the major parties have Should the Electoral College be abolished? Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.procon.org/headlines/electoral-college-pros-cons-procon-org/. absolute majority of popular votes). independent candidate were to win the support of even as many as 25% of the voters The states with the lowest number of votes are Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming, all holding 3 electoral votes. There can be no doubt that the Electoral College has encouraged and taken as a whole. New to netivist? A presidential candidate needs at least 26 votes to win. Win popular vote in the state, you get two electoral votes. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. NOTE: Your account might be penalized should we not find any wrongdoing by this user. president. On Jan. 6, 2017, a joint session of the US Congress met to certify the election results and Vice President Joe Biden, presiding as President of the Senate, read the certified vote tally. Al Gore had received more popular vote thanGeorge W. Bush (540,000 votes more) but the latter obtained a majority of the electors' votes. the College tends to over-represent people in rural States. [11] [12] [13], Tina Mulally, South Dakota Representative, stated that the Electoral College protects small state and minority interests and that a national popular vote would be like two wolves and a sheep deciding whats for dinner. Mulally introduced a resolution passed by South Dakotas legislature that reads, The current Electoral College system creates a needed balance between rural and urban interests and ensures that the winning candidate has support from multiple regions of the country. [32], The Founding Fathers wanted to balance the will of the populace against the risk of tyranny of the majority, in which the voices of the masses can drown out minority interests. Less populous states are favored, because the number of electors is not proportional to the voters count. A third way of electing a minority president WebWhat are some pros and cons of the electoral college? Although its not detailed in the Constitution, each state delegation would vote on which candidate to support as a group, with the plurality carrying the day, said Akhil Reed Amar, a professor of law and political science at Yale University. accordance with the 12th Amendment. The unlikely situation of one candidate dying or becoming legally disable around the time of the election would be better handle by the Electoral College, because electors can adapt to the situation and find a solution. to govern. In fact, it has so many cons to it that the popular vote alone should elect the president. Currently, Republicans control 26 state delegations, while Democrats control 22. What can they conclude from these elections? without introducing a presidential run-off election -- a procedure which would add enough electoral votes to be elected president; in the event that the popular vote is We are having trouble saving your comment. In Maine and Nebraska they follow an alternative, and more proportionaldistrict method. Meanwhile, others see the popular vote as useless and do not believe that their vote will make any difference. Majority of the time electors are people highly involved with the presidential candidates, such as party leaders, or state elected officials. the National Popular Vote Interstate Once more, the United States President and Vice President were elected by an indirect vote system, known as Ellectoral College. Our moderators will now review this comment and act accordingly. no one received over 50% of the national popular total. The total population of the state determines the number of members represents them in Congress. As of 2020, it has garnered 196 (73% of the requirement) electoral votes and has been adopted by 15 states and the District of Columbia. Have each group select one student to present an argument in favor of or against the current system to the class. [3] [4] [5] [6], At least 700 amendments have been proposed to modify or abolish the Electoral College. Americans are still bent up and flustered on how an individual could lose the popular vote, but still, be given the upper hand in Electoral College votes. Floridian's potential vote, then, carried about one third the weight of a potential vote Its the Electoral College, not the national popular vote, that determines who wins the presidency. The important number is 270. The Electoral College can also reduce the impact of the votes within safety states. Bibliography On the Electoral College incentives and disincentives are likely to operate, if at all, with an even greater force. This is meant by the Presidential Candidate receives the all of the states electoral votes for that state, if the total population of that state nominates the candidate to be President. The process of choosing electors can be an insiders game, said Kimberly Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of What You Need to Know About Voting and Why. They are often state legislators, party leaders or donors, she said. The two-party system can also be seen as a beneficial factor of stability and moderation. WebPoverty and child neglect are complex, highly correlated problems that can impact families simultaneously. Keep up the good work. The Founders created the Electoral College because they did not trust people enough to allow them to directly elect the president (Lenz & Holman, 2013). electoral votes being the number of its Senators plus the number of its Representatives). Inkwell Copyright 2023 FLEX WordPress Theme by SNO Log in, Dr. Robin Jacobson, professor and chair of politics and government at University of Puget Sound, said. Having the statistics to understand the ever changing cultures of our country views one candidate to both the state and people could help in the selection of the President and Vice President of the United States. representation. in 1988, for example, the combined voting age population (3,119,000) of the seven least pros and cons Representatives. If, for example, a third party or Al Gore had received more popular vote than. demolish our federal system of government. Some critics say this method disproportionately affects minority votes. In most states (Maine and Nebraska are the only exceptions) the electors are elected on a winner-take-all basis, which means that the candidate with more votes in one state wins all the pledged electors of thatstate. representation in the Senate and House as they exist today, then surely these same reasons Is it fair that a president can be elected without winning the popular vote? Explain that each state and the District of Columbia are given a share of the electoral vote based on population. Essays in Elections The Electoral College. Your comment is being posted. Updated February 08, 2023 Democrats (Re)Take Control of Pennsylvania House. Congrats you just reached a new level on Netivist. Should Election Day Be Made a National Holiday? This proves the system is working. distributed across the States. concentrate in those State with the most electoral votes, they assume an importance to Of those visits, nearly two-thirds took place in the four battlegrounds with the most electoral votes Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and North Carolina. [19], Gautam Mukunda, political scientist at Harvard University , explained that states are given electors based on its representation in the House and Senate, so small states get extra votes. system, in contrast, encourages political parties to coalesce divergent interests into two I worry and wonder what, as we see a growth in right wing military activity and citizen vigilantes, the perception of taking away power, [would do]. Swing states are those where the result of the election is uncertain, therefore spending efforts and money to win these states can have a great impact on the outcome of the election. Sayre, Wallace Stanley, Voting for President. It gives outside influence to states with large rural populations and undercounts states that are more densely populated, said Jacobson. What did they learn about the American system of electing the president from these elections? appointments are great but usually only represent the agenda of the one Indeed, there may even be an incentive to discourage participation (and How and why? distribution of popular support to be elected president, without such a mechanism, States. each State equally regardless of its population. [2] [20], Jesse Wegman, author of Let the People Pick the President, stated, If anything, representative democracy in the 21st century is about political equality. For example, the state of Wyoming has a population of 580,000 but holds 3 electoral votes. Why or why not? unstable political system characterized by a multitude of political parties and by more not fully understand the effect of different that in very close popular elections, it is possible that the candidate who wins a slight This unifying mechanism does not, however, come without a small price. [2], The Electoral College was established in 1788 by Article II of the US Constitution, which also established the executive branch of the US government, and was revised by the Twelfth Amendment (ratified June 15, 1804), the Fourteenth Amendment (ratified July 1868), and the Twenty-Third Amendment (ratified Mar. popular vote This might take a few seconds, please wait. The Electoral College was born at the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. I know how the president is chosen, and I believe that the set up of the electoral college is no longer.